China, Russia, India FMs to meet in Beijing on Monday
January 29, 2015, 6:23 am

The three Foreign Minister’s will also discuss India’s bid to join the Russia-China-led security bloc, SCO [Xinhua]

“Obama’s strategy is quite clear. He wants to split the relations between China and India, as well as India and Russia, in an effort to fulfil his strategy of a ‘re-balance’ in Asia,” state-run Global Times said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the RIC meeting will be held in Beijing on 2^nd February.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend the 13^th Foreign Ministers meet at the invitation of their Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

The mechanism has become an important platform for the three countries to coordinate their positions and seek consensus and cooperation.

RIC, formed more than a decade ago, is focussed on strategic issues of multilateral cooperation and democratic international relations.

With two of these nations being permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the RIC group plays a crucial role in global politics.

Monday’s meet is expected to discuss the Ukrainian crisis and the Iranian nuclear standoff as well as possible instability in Afghanistan post NATO pullout.

The three Foreign Minister’s will also discuss India’s bid to join the Russia-China-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

All three countries have taken similar stands on Syria, vociferously opposing any military interference against Damascus.

The three sides are also eyeing transport links for energy resources through Afghanistan and Central Asia routes that would further boost trade ties.

Russia is the world’s biggest energy exporter while China and India top the list of energy consumers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is backing the re-establishment of the ancient Silk Route that could bind China and India to resource-rich Central Asia, a trans-Eurasian project spanning from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

China, Russia and India stride two continents, link three oceans and have 40 per cent of the world population as well as over 22 per cent of world territorial surface.

The three nations are already members of the BRICS bloc of the fastest growing economies.

Among the many RIC forums are the Trilateral Experts Meeting on Disaster Management, Trilateral Business Forum, and Trilateral Academic Scholars Dialogue.

TBP